Etymology Map
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Chauvinist

2 stages from French to English.

Today it means a person with prejudiced loyalty to their own group, especially a male chauvinist

Where does the word "chauvinist" come from? It comes from French Chauvin, adopted directly into English (1870).

1
Stage 1 of 2
Chauvin
French · 1831
"a family name"
Nicolas Chauvin, supposedly a fanatically loyal soldier of Napoleon, was probably invented; the Cogniard brothers' 1831 play La Cocarde tricolore made him a byword for jingoism
2
Stage 2 of 2
chauvinist
English · 1870
"excessive partisan"
meant a blind patriot; 'male chauvinist' spread with the women's movement around 1970
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Read the full story

Chauvinist’s story begins in French: Chauvin meant “a family name.” Nicolas Chauvin, supposedly a fanatically loyal soldier of Napoleon, was probably invented; the Cogniard brothers' 1831 play La Cocarde tricolore made him a byword for jingoism. It reached English by 1870 as chauvinist. Meant a blind patriot; 'male chauvinist' spread with the women's movement around 1970. Today, chauvinist means a person with prejudiced loyalty to their own group, especially a male chauvinist.